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Boston, MA Real Estate News

By Michael Mahoney, Greater Boston Realtor
(Real Broker, LLC)
Either Way, You're Paying a Mortgage It Just Depends on for Whom Yesterday, I got great inspiration from Steve Harney of Keeping Current Matters on why it is so important to purchase and not rent.   There is a great quote from The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard in Steve's post.   I have been meeting with a lot of folks about the importance of purchasing instead of renting an apartment in Boston.  In the article, Steve and the gang basically say you are pay a mortgage one way or another. It's simply a matter of to whom. Will it be your landlord or yourself? In most cases, people in Boston are going to be renting apartments for $1500/ month or higher.  I have been meeeting with a ton of people who just don't realize that for about the same price, you can essentially purchase ...
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Looking to buy that single family home in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood in 2015?  If so, it's probably going to cost you more than if you pulled the trigger in 2014.  The average single family home went for $7.5 million in 2014, up from around $5.0 million in 2012 according to MLSPIN data.  Only six of these gems sold in 2014 with the least expensive home going for $4.0 million and the most expensive going for $12.736 million.
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By Jay McHugh, YOUR SendOutCard Mentor
(SendOutCards-Appreciation Marketing Expert)
What an amazing roller coaster ride it has been these last 12 months.... 1 year ago Stacey and I married.  We also made the descision to change our brand and due to challenges it is best not to say much more here, we will let the lawyers handle that....however, the foundation of our business has always been and still is to givie to GIVE not to give to GET. Our ActiveRain platform does just that...it allows us to share and to care...yes, there are many that continue to blah, blah, blah themselves or their brand...but the majority who comment or email off line for continued support are the true leaders of not just real estate but the leaders of the world.  No matter how significant the message, the true greatness is the ability to share your success nuggets freely and not worry of compet...
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By Praful Thakkar, Metro Boston Homes For Sale
(LAER Realty Partners)
  Quincy Market Holiday Event: Blink! Blink!Nightly Performances Featuring The Music Of The Holiday Pops November 22, 2014 - January 4, 2015 I visited Quincy Market recently and captured the 'Blink!' moment in my Android Smart Phone. A New Boston Tradition is Born this year: Blink! Blink! - the state-of-the-art light & sound extravaganza that transforms every inch of America's first open marketplace - returned to Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Marketplace Center for a third year in November 2014. This magical and unforgettable light show uses over 350,000 LED lights to illuminate Boston's skyline - to the song stylings of the Holiday Pops - in a seven-minute spectacle that runs continuously each evening.  The lights dance seamlessly to the music through every inch of Faneuil Hall, includi...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
Your commission check is not my priority, it is not even in the top 5 things I care about when we work. As your listing agent one of the highest priorities is getting your price right.  The correct price at the correct time is essential for a quick sale and your (The Seller) getting the most.  The correct price is both an art and a science. The science part is what the appraiser will use to determine the value.  They will look at comparative homes of comparative size, shape, style, amenities and neighborhood to come up with the likely price.  They use 17 criteria for this determination.  The art part of pricing is about the knowledge and insight that your Realtor® carries about the market, TODAY. The TODAY market involves and analysis of what is happening in that market, in that neighbo...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
International Luxury Homes Report Boston Dec 24 2015.  As we prepare for the Christmas break here is a quick look at this weeks luxury market report delivered weekly by the International Luxury Home Marketing specialist.  The prices on homes in the Boston Area seem to be moving back up.  National statistics from the NAR show a year over year growth of home valuations which is different than the home prices but is also a positive sign. The luxury market is the fastest growing sector in real estate right at this point.  Homes in the $100,000, well below luxury values that begin in this area at $881,000, are languishing because they have all be absorbed by developers and rehabber's. Warren Buffet suggest that you buy and hold and that is the case with most home owners now living in their p...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
International Luxury Homes Report Boston Dec 15 2015. As a Million Dollar Guild member of the International Luxury Home Marketing association I have access to the latest information put together on this market on a weekly basis. Keeping current matters if you are looking to Sell or Buy at the right price.  While it is next to impossible to truly time the market perfectly, there are indicators that show what the market is doing and where it is going. The big news last week is that FHA opened up the 3% downpayment opportunity again. Whle this has next to zero impact on the Luxury market, it may help some of the luxury properties Millenial children to get out of their parents homes and into their own wealth building real estate opportunity.  It is clear now as it has been for centuries tha...
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By James Lowenstern, Castles Unlimited. Newton MA Real Estate
(Castles Unlimited®)
This week, S&P/Case-Shiller released its monthly housing data report, the leading measure of home prices across the nation. Immediately, reporters posted dozens of stories about January’s numbers–with oddly contradictory headlines. “US home prices rise in January: S&P/Case-Shiller”, Reuters proclaimed. “Home prices decline for third month in January,” the Wall Street Journal‘s MarketWatch blog wrote. “Case-Shiller sees housing market cooling ever so slightly,” the Los Angeles Times proclaimed. Which is it? Well, depending which numbers you look at, the answer is both–and all three. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices track home prices across the nation, looking at the data a number of ways. Conflicting headlines come from whether the reporter is using non-seasonally adjusted numbers...
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By Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty, Good to Know
(BHHS Verani Realty)
  Schedule a Showing/Request Info See Similar Homes for Sale Londonderry, NH Real Estate Manchester, NH Real Estate Hooksett, NH Real Estate Derry, NH Real Estate Litchfield, NH Real Estate Chester, NH Real Estate Exeter, NH Real Estate   Judy Liran BHHS Verani Realty Londonderry   888-723-0306 Office: 888-723-0306 Questions?Schedule a Showing! MLS#: 71751548   Information valid for the date of this posting only. Please contact us for the most current information and status of this property. 22-24 Hannon St. Boston, MA Scan with your smartphone & take me with you. Description Photos Maps & Local Schools Print Brochure JUST LISTED     Beautiful 0 bedroom home for sale in Boston, MA! $ Click for current price 4 BATHROOMS ( 4 full ) 3728.0 Square Feet This two family unit has it all: quie...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
Boston Area Move In Homes Market Report Fall 2014.  Interest rates are still low, prices are slowly rising as the inventory dwindles and the market is fibrillating between a Buyer's and a Seller's market.  Mid term elections are on the way, their continues to be unrest and disease in the world that threatens all of us and this may still be the best time to buy or sell your home we will see in another 20 years.  Of course you can not predict that far in advance, but the indicators are there.  The economy has grown, the national debt while still an abomination, is shrinking and the Federal Reserve board is discussing the need to curb the inflation rate. (Pictured to the right, 114 Shornecliffe Rd, Newton, MA 02458 on Sale this week) West Roxbury Homes When interest rates jump the housing ...
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By Praful Thakkar, Metro Boston Homes For Sale
(LAER Realty Partners)
AWESOME CONDO IN HYDE PARK FEATURING 2 BEDS, 1 BATH AND HARDWOOD FLOORS THROUGHOUT. CONDO ALSO FEATURES NICE UP TO DATE KITCHEN WITH AN ISLAND Conveniently located to 95 as well as Cummings Hwy. Property is also close to the commuter rail. Enjoy the space inside or walk out the back door and Enjoy the nice deck which leads to a private shared back yard. Property also offers a parking space as well as lots of street parking, don’t wait call today schedule a showing and make this place YOUR OWN! Oh other features include a brand new rood in 2013 and a new front fence!!! Learn more about this property and see more photos by visiting our site. Simply click on the link below: 686 Metropolitan Ave #1, Boston, MA To speak with us directly about this home or schedule a showing, call Praful Thak...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
ILHM Aug 2014 Market Report The air is cool this early morning, but it supposed to be in the 90's in the Boston Area today.  Families are getting their final vacations in, school supplies shopped for and ready, and the real estate market monthly statistics continues to indicate where we have been and not where we are going.  This past month the Federal Reserve board met and discussed interest rates and inflation.  Seems like the rates might stay low for a bit longer, but the voices will be more shrill as we get closer to the next election. ILHM Aug 2014 Market Report Housing starts were down, sales were down in the last month, but prices of single family homes in the Boston Area were up.  Summer is traditionally a slower part of the cycle with an uptick to come in the Fall, which is jus...
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By Associate Broker Falmouth MA Cape Cod Heath Coker, Heath Coker Berkshire Hathaway HS Robert Paul Prop
(https://teamcoker.robertpaul.com)
Is Your Brain Melting? With Parkinson's or Alzheimer's - Maybe. Do you know someone with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's? If you can't remember the first name of a client, or where you put your keys, or where you are, your brain may have melted a little. If you are more wobbly, or loosing function in other body parts, maybe part of your brain is melting.  In extreme cases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, there may be real evidence that some of your brain's "cables" have melted away. One of my clients is studying the brain and how all its parts are linked by "cables".  More than ever is know about how the parts of the brain interconnect across these cables.  But there is still much to learn about the cables, how long they last, why some of them melt away as the brain changes or is disturbed ...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
The charts below show the 7-day and 90-day rolling averages for list price, days on market, and inventory for the metro area's luxury market (e.g. top 10 zips with median prices above $500k)  This report is provided to me as a member of the CHLMS, Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist by the ILHM, Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. ILHM-Report-Aug2014 Summary of Charts, prices still inching up, inventory coming trending down, which helps keep prices moving upward. The Days on Market is trending up while the number of houses reducing their prices looks like it has hit a peak and is receding.  Trying to time the market is nearly impossible, but buying and selling at the right time for the right prices and with the right interest rates available is the best of all possible worlds.  ...
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By James Lowenstern, Castles Unlimited. Newton MA Real Estate
(Castles Unlimited®)
Robin's Academy Award Winning Dialogue Robin Williams is dead, and while millions grieve I want to offer up my remembrance of the great comic, actor and humanitarian with the movie clip above.  It's a simple enough scene.  Robin with Matt Damon from the movie "Good Will Hunting".  It was filmed in the famous "Public Gardens' Pond" in Boston's Back Bay where people come to "sail" on the swan boats, walk through the rows of beautiful flowers, watch the ducks and the swans and often sit and talk on the park benches that ring the pond.  People come to sit on those benches, and for the time that they are there the world's problems can seem to melt away.  Those park benches will never look quite the same to me from this day on.  Robin left his heart there on one of those benches and the world...
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For this update, I am going to be concentrating on the Boston real estate market for 2Q 2014.  All information was obtained from the Multiple Listing Service Property Information Network (MLSPIN) The Boston real estate market is broken down into many different neighborhoods and it is impossible to give one “average” price for a Boston home.  Some areas (i.e.: Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End) have some of the most expensive real estate in the United States.  Because Boston has a very expansive footprint coupled with very diverse housing stock there is usually “something for everyone” when it comes to finding a new home.  Key drivers for prices and appreciation tend to be location to Downtown; access to public transportation, amenities (in condo buildings) and lot size. This update will...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
Living in the City, Transportation and Take Out.  There are many advantages to living in the city. One of them is that you can live Auto free.  If you live and work in the city, especially Boston you can get from here to there in most cases faster with the available public transportation (during regular hours) than you can with a car, and certainly way cheaper if you are considering parking.  Yes, there are disadvantages to not having the freedom of a car, but the cost benefit ratio is one to consider if you are renting and hoping to own a home in the city. West Roxbury T Station The key to the purchase of a home is down payment and credit. If you are paying rent and are on time make sure your landlord provides you a letter saying so.  One of the other key advantages the city has over t...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
Boston Area Move In Homes Luxury Market Report July 10 2014  The Luxury Market has been moving up, the inventory is down a bit, but growing faster than normal. The Days on Market is lower and our prices are better than the averages across the country. All of this is good and somewhat expected what we are hearing both in the media and seeing on the yellow brick road. The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing indicates it is a Warm Seller's Market meaning that the Seller is seeing more buyers than they need.  This is also showing up for the future as well with more houses absorbed than came on the market which will result in a lower number of homes on the market.  This can drive prices up further and Days on Market down, we will see how it plays out through the summer.  Quite often the luxur...
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By Larry Lawfer, "I listen for a living." It's all about you.
(YourStories Realty Group)
The Luxury of Liberty brings forth great emotion. I can only recall the saying of a wise Frenchman that `liberty is the luxury of self-discipline.’ Historically, those peoples that did not discipline themselves had discipline thrust on them from the outside. That is why the normal cycle in the life and death of great nations has been first a powerful tyranny broken by revolt, the enjoyment of liberty, the abuse of liberty — and back to tyranny again. As I see it, in this country — a land of the most persistent idealism and the blandest cynicism — the race is on between its decadence and its vitality. This quote is from Liberty is the Luxury of Self-Discipline by Alistair Cooke in the Imaginative Conservative It is impossible to think of Liberty without thinking of the price of Liberty d...
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By Jay McHugh, YOUR SendOutCard Mentor
(SendOutCards-Appreciation Marketing Expert)
  How will you celebrate the July 4th holiday? LAER and Jay McHugh have compiled a list of all the Massachusetts fireworks displays. If we’ve missed any, please share in the comments below. Acton July 4 (rain date: July 5) Dusk NARA Park Amesbury July 4 Dusk Woodsom Farm Andover July 3 Dusk Andover High School Attleboro July 5 (rain date: July 6) 9:20 p.m. Hayward Field Auburn July 3 (rain date: July 6) 9:30 p.m. Pappas Recreation Complex Ayer July 5 9:30 p.m. Pirone Park Barnstable July 4 Dusk Lewis Bay Bellingham July 4 9 p.m. Blackstone Street Complex Beverly July 4 (rain date: July 5) 9 p.m. West Beach Boston July 4 9:30 p.m. Esplanade Braintree June 28 (rain date: June 29) 10 p.m. Braintree High School Bridgewater July 4 9:30 p.m. Legion Field Brockton July 4 (fireworks on June 28...
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